Health Tip | 5 Tips for a Healthier Lifestyle

To start off the new year, a lot of people jump into healthier eating habits, exercising, and taking care of their body. However, most of these practices start fizzling out by mid February and don't really ever turn into "habits".

I got into working out and developing a healthier lifestyle during my sophomore year of college. Since then, I've lost about 35 pounds. I've had some fluctuations with my commitment here and there due to a busy schedule, wanting to see my boyfriend, and trying to go back home to see my mom whenever I had the time to. Although I still have a relatively healthy diet, recently I've been missing the way I used to feel from going to the gym 4-5 times a week. I realized I had fallen into a slump that I desperately needed to get out of. Yesterday I had an unexpected day off from both babysitting and barista-ing. I took advantage of this free time by getting up early, having a good breakfast, and getting my butt over to the gym and having a particularly sweaty, awesome workout.

What does all that have to do with this blog post? Well, I came up with 5 tips to help anyone who might just be starting to get into the workout/healthy eating lifestyle, or anyone who, like me, has falling into a lazy slump and needs some help getting out of it. Here we go:

1. Be realistic

Face it, you're not going to end up running 5 miles non stop on your first try at the treadmill and you're not going to lose 30 pounds in a month. These are not realistic expectations, nor are they necessarily healthy. Losing weight and getting healthy takes time, and the more patient you are with your transition, the better your results will be and they will LAST. With that being said, I have 2 sub-tips that go alongside with this one:

1. Listen to your body: It's okay to take breaks and it's okay to not go as fast or for as long as the person working out next to you. You want to push your body, not punish it. If your leg starts cramping up, take a break. If you're running out of breath, take a break or slow down your pace. If feel faint or woozy or nauseous, stop working out and rest for a while. Pace yourself and your body will thank you later on.
2. Give yourself some rest days: It's unrealistic to workout 7 days a week, every single week of the year. Your body needs to have rest days to recover from previous workouts so that you're workouts will actually pay off and not result in injury. Designate some rest days within your workout regime. If you don't, you're risking an injury and you'll end up taking a month's worth of rest days at a time and screw up your routine. 

2. Don't get discouraged!

You won't drop 5 pounds after your first workout, sorry darling. Just because the scale isn't showing you what you want, doesn't mean you should give up! You're not working out and eating right for nothing; your body just needs to time to show you your well earned results. If your weight starts fluctuating, don't let that get you down either. Just remember that muscle mass is heavier than fat, so when you're building muscle to replace fat, your weight may fluctuate, but your clothes will fit you differently and you will look leaner and feel a hell of a lot better, trust me.

3. Set goals & rewards - don't set deadlines!

It's important to keep yourself on top of things while getting into a new workout routine. To do this, I think it's important to set goals and rewards instead of going by deadlines. Bodies are weird and unexpected things happen and sometimes our bodies can't work as fast as we want them to. Telling yourself that you will lose X amount of weight in Y amount of time will most likely leave you disappointed when you couldn't make your own deadline. Setting goals and then rewarding yourself when you reach those goals (buying yourself a new piece of clothing, going out to dinner with some friends, going out on a fancy date with your significant other, etc.) no matter how much or how little time has passed will leave you much more satisfied. This way, you're not only working for the reward of a healthier body, you're working for a physical reward that you've earned for yourself. 

4. Figure out what motivates you

Motivation is the number one thing that will keep you striving for a healthier lifestyle. Some people find motivation in weighing themselves once a week. Others find motivation in sticking photos of people with ideal bodies all over the place to remind them of what they're after. Is your motivation fitting back into your high school prom dress? Maybe you're trying to feel a little more comfortable in your bikini this summer. Or maybe you just want to develop a fondness for working out because you know it's good for you. Whatever your motivational source is- just use it.

5. Stop making excuses

I understand that there are certain obstacles that get in the way of working toward your healthy goals. However, if these "obstacles" come up more than once a week, chances are you're fishing for excuses for yourself, and the sooner you realize this, the better off you'll be. If you really want something, go for it, and stop coming up with reasons for why you can't.

I hope this helps! I'll be keeping these in mind while I get back into the swing of things back at the gym. Here's to a happy and healthy new year to you all! :) xo